2024 Summer Movie Preview: Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, Twisters, More (Exclusive)

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Mother of the Bride

Putting together the seating chart for this event will prove tricky. Brooke Shields stars in this rom-com as Lana, whose daughter Emma (Miranda Cosgrove) returns from a trip abroad and announces that she’s getting married in Thailand. Turns out, Emma’s fiancé (Sean Teale) happens to be the son of the man (Benjamin Bratt) who left Lana heartbroken years prior. Will a spark reignite overseas? Seems so! Shields says Bratt is “pretty easy to be a love interest.” Streaming on Netflix May 9

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Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

In the future, apes have surpassed humans as the dominant species. “Life as we knew it is kind of gone and the apes hunt down the humans,” says Freya Allan, who plays one of the on-the-run Homo sapiens. One young primate, Noa (Owen Teague), shows sympathy to the prey in this visually stunning installment of the sci-fi franchise. In theaters May 10

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Back to Black

Actress Marisa Abela (HBO’s Industry) transforms into late “Rehab” singer Amy Winehouse, who was known as much for her personal troubles as she was for her soulful voice. This biopic, told from Winehouse’s point of view, tracks the Brit’s rise as she makes it big with the 2006 smash album Back to Black. “Marisa inhabits Amy’s soul to a place where she makes you feel like you’re in her presence,” says director Sam Taylor-Johnson. “During the casting process, Marisa was the only person who, when she looked into the camera, was Amy.” In theaters May 17

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IF

Cailey Fleming in 'IF'.
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

What happens to imaginary friends when the kids who dreamed them up become adults? Well, they still exist — and they need to befriend new children or else they disappear. Young Bea (Cailey Fleming) takes on a mission to play matchmaker of sorts. Ryan Reynolds costars in this whimsical fantasy costarring John Krasinski, who also wrote and directed. In theaters May 17

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The Strangers: Chapter One

Car trouble forces a cute young couple (Riverdale's Madelaine Petsch and Teen Wolf's Froy Gutierrez) to spend the night at a remote cabin in a small town, which is eerie by day and downright frightening at night. Keep the doors locked, kids! In theaters May 17

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Atlas

She’s Jenny from the… outer space mission to save humanity. Jennifer Lopez headlines this thriller about a data analyst whose deep aversion for artificial intelligence collides with her need to trust A.I. in order stop a robot terrorist from wreaking havoc. “I loved that this is a big sci-fi action movie, but at its core, it’s a story of friendship — and a love story, in a way,” Lopez recently said. Streaming on Netflix May 24

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Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

In this prequel to the 2015’s post-apocalyptic hit Mad Max: Fury Road, viewers get a front row seat to the fascinating (and violent) origin story of Imperator Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy, taking over the role from Charlize Theron). “On the simplest level, it’s about someone who’s taken as a child, and spends her life trying to get back home,” says director George Miller. Standing in her way? Dementus (Chris Hemsworth), the “dark and charismatic” leader of a biker gang, he continues. “This odyssey gets us to the core of these two wild, elemental characters trying to survive the chaos of the world.” In theaters May 24

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The Garfield Movie

Garfield Movie First Look — Courtesy of DNEG

Just call him a cat burglar. A new animated adventure awaits for Garfield, the lazy, lasagna-loving housecat from the comic strip (voiced by Chris Pratt), when he reunites with his long-lost father Vic (Samuel L. Jackson) and gets caught up in a purr-fectly hilarious heist. In theaters May 24

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Ezra

Did you hear the one about the frustrated stand-up comic who kidnaps his autistic son from his ex wife and takes him on a cross country road trip? That’s the premise of this dramedy starring Bobby Cannavale as comedian Max Bernal and his real-life love Rose Byrne as his ex wife. The supporting cast includes Robert De Niro, Rainn Wilson and Tony Goldwyn, who also directs. In theaters May 31

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Summer Camp

S’mores, smokey camp fires, smoldering crushes — they’re all still there at Camp Pinnacle when best friends Nora (Diane Keaton), Ginny (Kathy Bates), and Mary (Alfre Woodard) reunite for some R&R decades after they first bonded in the wilderness. The sweet story about the importance of sisterhood also features Eugene Levy, Dennis Haysbert and Beverly D’Angelo. In theaters May 31

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Young Woman and the Sea

Daisy Ridley stars as athlete and Olympic champion Trudy Ederle, a native New Yorker who, in 1926, became the first woman to successfully swim the English Channel. Her grit and grace in the face of adversity and sexism was an inspiration to the nation. The moving drama is based on the book Young Woman and the Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World by Glenn Stout. In theaters May 31

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Bad Boys: Ride or Die

Miami detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett (Will Smith and Martin Lawrence) live up to their titular moniker in the latest chapter of the buddy-cop series. “This time they're the bad guys,” explains producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Well, kinda. When they try to clear the name of their late captain (Joe Pantoliano) who’s implicated in a drug-smuggling case, Mike and Marcus find themselves labeled fugitives. Says Bruckheimer, “They're being chased by everybody.” In theaters June 7

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Hit Man

Top Gun: Maverick’s Glen Powell stars as Gary Johnson, a mild-mannered college professor with a side gig as a faux hit man, helping the New Orleans Police Department catch folks who are trying to hire killers. All goes well until Johnson falls for a seductive potential client, Madison (Adria Arjona). The movie, cowritten by Powell and Oscar nominee Richard Linklater, has action, romance and comedy. As Powell says, “it is a Vitamix of all these different genres.” Not to mention different wigs: Johnson wears many disguises when he's posing as a hit man. Streaming on Netflix June 7

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Inside Out 2

In this follow-up to the 2015 animated coming-of-age tale about the boisterous emotions inside the head of young Riley (voiced by Kensington Tallman), there are some new feelings that join the others as Riley, now a teen, heads to high school. Anxiety (voiced by Maya Hawke), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), Envy (Ayo Edebiri) and Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser) join Joy (Amy Poehler), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Tony Hale), Sadness (Phyllis Smith) and Disgust (Liza Lapira). In theaters June 14

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Tuesday

Keep the tissues close for this moving and fantastical drama about Zora (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), a mother caring for her terminally ill daughter Tuesday (Lola Petticrew). Death presents itself as a talking bird, whose wise words aim to prepare Zora for what’s next. In theaters June 14

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Kinds of Kindness

Poor Things and The Favourite director Yorgos Lanthimos reunites with his muse, Emma Stone, for this anthology movie featuring several stories (including one about a police officer whose long-lost wife returns with a different persona) and an all-star cast: Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Joe Alwyn and Hong Chau. In theaters June 21

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Thelma

Hell hath no fury like a woman scammed. Veteran actress and Oscar nominee June Squibb stars as the titular senior citizen, a kind and trusting soul who mails $10,000 to a mysterious caller after he claims her grandson was arrested and needs the money. When she learns she was duped, she’s determined to get her cash back and exact revenge. Squibb even did her own stunts à la Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible, who serves as an inspiration for Thelma. Says Squibb, “I was so proud of myself doing this.” In theaters June 21

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A Family Affair

The Paperboy stars Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron reunite for this romantic comedy about a woman (Kidman) who falls for her daughter’s (Joey King) boss (Efron). Director Richard LaGravenese says there’s a comical “role reversal” that unfolds. “The daughter becomes the disapproving, judgmental, suspicious parent and the mother is sneaking around her back having a love affair that makes her feel like she’s come back to life,” he says. Streaming on Netflix June 28

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Horizon: An American Saga — Chapters 1 and 2

Kevin Costner in 'Horizon: An American Saga'.
Warner Bros. Pictures/YouTube

Ever since Kevin Costner was a kid, he says, “I was fascinated by the wild places in this country, the openness, how big something was, and that if you could live by your own wits, you could flourish there. And if you were stupid, you could perish there.” That idea takes center stage in his new Western epic, spanning several years in the 1800s, before, during and after the Civil War. Costner is coy about specific plot, which covers several overlapping stories, but hints at the “clash of cultures” between Indigenous folks and White settlers driven by Manifest Destiny. Sienna Miller, Luke Wilson and Costner’s son Hayes Costner costar. In theaters June 28 (Chapter 1) and Aug. 16 (Chapter 2)

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A Quiet Place: Day One

Hear those sounds? People are talking, laughing, listening to music — but not for long. This prequel to the 2018 horror movie A Quiet Place and its 2020 follow-up depicts what happened when those fearsome aliens with sharp hearing first invaded Earth, forcing the few survivors to remain silent. Lupita Nyong’o, Djimon Hounsou and Stranger Things’ Joseph Quinn star. In theaters June 28

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Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F

Break out the synthesizer and the Detroit Lions jacket — Axel Foley is back! Thirty years after his last Golden Gate State assignment, Michigan cop Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) returns to the elite Southern California enclave when his estranged daughter, defense attorney Jane (Taylour Paige) is threatened and his old pal, Det. Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) disappears. Time hasn’t tempered Foley’s rogue approach to crime-solving in the fourth installment of the action-comedy franchise. “He's still the wiry character he's always been,” says producer Jerry Bruckheimer. “He always bucks authority and does it his own way.” Streaming on Netflix July 3

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Despicable Me 4

What’s a former supervillain to do when he’s dealing with a precocious newborn baby and an escaped criminal who’s targeting him and his family? Go on the run! Steve Carell returns to voice grouchy hero Gru in this animated adventure that also features the vocal talents of Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell and Sofía Vergara. In theaters July 3

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MaXXXine

Years after she escaped as the sole survivor of a brutal and bloody massacre on a remote farm during an adult film shoot (the events of the 2022 movie X) aspiring actress Maxine (Mia Goth) is now living in Los Angeles in the 1980s — but her dreams of stardom are threatened by a serial killer known as The Night Stalker. Kevin Bacon, Elizabeth Debicki, Bobby Cannavale and Lily Collins costar. In theaters July 5

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Mother, Couch

The curious title of this dramedy sets up the predicament for three siblings (Ewan McGregor, Rhys Ifans and Lara Flynn Boyle) who are summoned to a furniture store when their mother (Ellen Burstyn) plants herself on a sofa and refuses to get up. They put the "fun" in dysfunctional family. In New York theaters July 5 before going wider throughout the summer

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Fly Me to the Moon

Theirs is an out-of-this-world love story! Set during NASA’s moon landing mission in the 1960s, the romance stars Scarlett Johansson as Kelly Jones, a member of the marketing team, and Channing Tatum as Cole Davis, the director of the launch. “Kelly and Cole are such opposites,” says Johansson. And yet the stars align and they click. Continues the actress and producer, “Channing is such an easy-going actor, good spirited and professional. Falling in love with him onscreen was pretty easy.” In theaters July 12

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My Spy The Eternal City

In this follow-up to the 2020 action comedy, CIA agent JJ (Dave Bautista) and his stepdaughter Sophie (Chloe Coleman) go abroad to Italy for her school choir trip, but soon find themselves in the middle of a terrorist plot. “JJ has to navigate Sophie’s growing independence as her interest in boys starts to interfere with a new international threat,” says director Pete Segal. What’s worse: raging hormones or radicals? Streaming on Prime Video July 18

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Twisters

There’s a storm brewing — several, in fact. This follow-up to the 1996 hit Twister follows Kate Cooper (Daisy Edgar-Jones), a New York-based extreme weather researcher who crosses paths with self-described “tornado wrangler” and adrenaline junkie Tyler Owens (Glen Powell) when she heads to Oklahoma to test a new weather tracking system. Expect mind-blowing special effects, terrifying tornado destruction...and Powell's glorious windswept hair. Quips the actor, “I don't even know if I know how to act without a giant jet engine blowing in my face anymore.” In theaters July 19

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Deadpool & Wolverine

Let the wisecracking commence! Smart-mouth mercenary Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) and more staid hero Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) join forces for an epic romp in one of the year’s most highly anticipated events. In theaters July 26

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The Fabulous Four

Susan Sarandon, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Megan Mullally play three longtime friends who travel to Key West, Florida, for the wedding of another college pal (Bette Midler). The cocktails flow easily—and so do the laughs. In theaters July 26

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Borderlands

Horror master Eli Roth (Thanksgiving) directs this video game adaptation, which stars a flame-haired Cate Blanchett, a fugitive who returns to her home planet of Pandora and teams up with a motley crew — ex-soldier Roland (Kevin Hart), scientist Tannis (Jamie Lee Curtis) and a robot named claptrap (Jack Black), to name a few — in order to find the missing daughter of the most powerful man in the universe, Atlas (Édgar Ramírez). In theaters Aug. 9

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It Ends with Us

Based on Colleen Hoover’s 2016 New York Times bestseller of the same name, the drama stars Blake Lively as Lily Bloom, a floral shop owner whose relationship with handsome but deeply flawed doctor Ryle Kincaid (Justin Baldoni, who also directs), takes a dark turn. “I think people are going to be blown away by her portrayal of Lily,” Baldoni says of Lively. “It's so nuanced, it's so unique, it's so beautiful.” In theaters Aug. 9

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Alien: Romulus

The tagline to the original 1979 thriller Alien — in space, no one can hear you scream — still applies. This new chapter in the chilling sci-fi franchise is set between the events of the first film and its sequel, 1986’s Aliens, when original heroine Ellen Ripley was floating through space. This time around, a new crew of colonizers encounter those deadly extraterrestrials with the acidic blood. Priscilla’s Cailee Spaeny stars. In theaters Aug. 16

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The Union

Mark Wahlberg lets loose as New Jersey construction worker Mike whose former high school flame Roxanne (Halle Berry), a spy, enlists him for a risky mission. Oscar-winner J.K. Simmons costars. Streaming on Netflix Aug. 16

Summer Movie Preview 2024: Beverly Hills Cop, Twisters and Dozens More Must-See Films